Self-adjusting fire nozzle



Feb. 12, 1952 w, s n- 2,585,509

SELF-ADJUSTING FIRE NOZZ L E Filed Nov. 4, 1949 INVEN'IOR CHAQLI-E W.SMITH ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 12, 952

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.v SELF-ADJUSTING FIRE NOZZLE Charlie W.Smith, Little Rock, Ark.

Application November 4, 1949, Serial No. 125,504

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to hose nozzle attachments, and more particularlyto a nozzle attachment for a high pressure hose of the type employed infire fighting.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedself-adjusting tip attachment for a fire hose, said attachment beingvery simple in construction, being easy to install, and beingautomatically expansible under conditions of increased water pressurewhereby itmay be employed on a fire hose over a wide range of variationof water pressure, avoiding the necessity of changing nozzles on thehose.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved nozzleattachment for a high pressure water hose which provides an orificewhich automatically adjusts itself in size in accordance with the degreeof water pressure at the nozzle, whereby it is unnecessary to changenozzle tips for different degrees of water pressure, said attachmentbeing inexpensive to manufacture, being very rugged in construction, andrequiring very little labor to install.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and claim, and from the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the discharge end of a highpressure water hose employing a nozzle tip attachment constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional detail view taken on line 2--2 of Figure1;

Figure 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 ofFigure 2;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional detail view of the expansibletip device employed in the nozzle of Figure 1, said view being taken online 44 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, H designates the end of a high pressure waterhose, such as a fire hose, and I2 designates a conventional cutoil valvesecured to the end of the hose H in any suitable manner. The valve l2has an operating handle [3 for opening and closing the valve. The valveI2 is formed at its outer end with a threaded extension I4, andthreadedly engaged on said extension is a cylindrical sleeve l5.Designated at [6 is a tapering tip member which is preferably formed ofmolded rubber or similar resilient nonmetallic material, said tip memberhaving embedded therein a plurality of evenly spaced, longitudinallyextending, flat strips of spring metal, such as spring steel, designatedat H. At its larger end the tip member I6 is formed with an integral,outwardly extended, annular flange l8 which is received in an annularshouldered recess [9. The recess I9 is formed in the sleeve member l5adjacent the internal threads thereof, designated at 20, which engage onthe threads M of the valve member l2. The annular recess I9 is formedwith substantially the same mean outer diameter of the threads l4,whereby the end of the valve member 12 may engage the flange l8 andcompress said flange against the shoulder of the recess l9, as shown inFigure '2. This rigidly clamps the tapering tip member it within thesleeve member l5.

When water under pressure travels through the tip member IS, the smallerend of the tip member is caused to expand slightly when the pressure ofthe water increases, automatically providing a larger discharge orificefor the water. The resilient strips I! are thereby flexed outwardly asthe material of the tip member expands, and exert a reinforcing actionon the tip member. At the same time said metal strips prevent permanentdistortion of the tip member and cause the tip member to contract to itsoriginal size when the pressure is relieved.

It is therefore seen that a novel device has been provided whichautomatically expands to provide an increased orifice under conditionsof high pressure, whereas a smaller orifice is provided when the wateris at a relatively low pressure. Therefore, it is unnecessary to changenozzles when water pressure conditions in the hose H vary. A singlenozzle device such as above illustrated may therefore be employed undera wide range of water pressure conditions.

While a specific embodiment of a self-adjusting pressure responsivenozzle for high pressure water hose has been disclosed in the foregoingdescription, it will be understood that various modifications within thespirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art.Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the inventionexcept as defined by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A self adjusting hose nozzle for attachment to the end of a highpressure hose comprising an open ended cylindrical member having one endadapted to be secured on said end of said hose, a tip member fabricatedof an elastic nonmetallic material positioned longitudinally within saidcylindrical. member and having one end secured therein in communicationwith said end of said hose and having the other end terminatingcontiguous to and spaced inwardly from the other end of said cylindricalmember and providing an outlet orifice, said tip member being taperedinwardly from said one end to said other end thereof whereby upon flowof water through said tip member, said orifice automatically adjusts insize in accordance with the degree of Water pressure in said hose, andmeans carried by said tip member for preventing the permanent distortionof the latter, said means comprising a plurality'ifgof iciro mferentially' spaced; longitudinally extending strips *fabrioated'ofresilient material embedded in said tip member.

CHARLIE W. SM ITI I.

4 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the tile ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 591,067 Wallace Oct. 5, 18971,702,508 Herrmann Feb. 19, 1929 2,534,874 Mettler Dec. 19, 1950 5FoaEIG rATEjNrs Number Country Date 50,792 Sweden Jan. 25, 1922 82,606Germany Aug. 8, 1895

